Presently re-reading Six Dharma Gates to the Sublime by Tendai Daishi (Zhiyi), translated by Bikhshu Dharmamitra. Its one of those texts that I have read and re-read several times over the years to the point my copy is well worn, dog eared and stained with coffee. It is one of the best meditation manuals I have read so far.

Its not for a complete beginner - this is not a step by step for the newbie, but with basic instruction under the belt and a little experience, I have found that this is an excellent resource that offers a "road map" from initial stages to the goal (as best as I can fathom the goal) with advice on dealing with the various obstacles that arise in the course of practice and how to proceed and recognize progress. Tendai Daishi's voice sounds clear and present.

Just wanted to share.

Those who, even with distracted minds,
Entered a stupa compound
And chanted but once, “Namo Buddhaya!”
Have certainly attained the path of the buddhas.
-Lotus Sutra, Expedient Means Chapter

There are beings with little dust in their eyes who are falling away because they do not hear the Dhamma. There will be those who will understand the Dhamma.
-Ayacana Sutta

Thank you - I've repeatedly been been told that "just breathing" can't do what it has already done! You know the fox knows many things but the hedgehog knows just One Really Big Thing. Just because I know it, doesn't mean i am able to defend it in debate - it is not a knowing in conceptual thought as much as it it like a knowing in the sense of living in it - but this helps. As we can see here it is not "just breathing"
1. Awareness that the breath is entering.
2. Awareness that the breath is exiting.
3. Awareness that the breath is long or short.
4 .Awareness that the breath permeates the body.
5. Relinquishing all physical actions.
6. The mental experience of joy.
7. The mental experience of bliss.
8. The experiencing of all mental actions.
9. The mental production of joy.
10. The mental development of concentration.
11. The mental generation of liberation.
12. The contemplation of impermanence.
13. The contemplation of dispersion.
14. The contemplation of abandonment of desire.
15. The contemplation of cessation.
16. The contemplation of renunciation.

Also since the tradition says this is the practice Buddha used under the Bodhi Tree, this method is not to be sniffed at.

Dhyāna Master Zhiyi’s Preface

As for the “six gates to the sublime (praṇīta),” they constitute the
very root of one’s internal practice and the essential route to realization
of the paths of the Three Vehicles. Hence, when Shākyamuni
first arrived at the Bodhi Tree and sat down in lotus posture on the
cushion of grass, “He directed his thought inwardly to ānāpāna:
first, counting (gaṇanā); second, following (anugamaḥ); third, stabilization
(sthānam), fourth, contemplation (upalakṣaṇā); fifth, turning
(vivartanā); and sixth, purification (pariśuddhiḥ).” It was because of
this that the myriad practices opened forth and took effect, resulting
in the subduing of the demons and the realization of the Path.

One should realize that the Buddha is the model for beings. Since
he pointed out his own tracks in this fashion, how then could the
orthodox personages of the Three Vehicles fail to all travel together
along this road?

Here is part of the translator's note on this ancient method:

This six-gate meditation method is not a later-period
Mahāyāna construct, but rather a meditation cultivation
formula rooted in the earliest period of Indian Buddhism. A
closer examination of this formula will help us develop a much more
refined view of traditional Buddhist meditation, one which goes
beyond the very simplistic assumptions generally prevailing in the
West which tend to look upon the tradition as consisting primarily
in a very rudimentary form of ānāpāna (breath) meditation only later
overlaid with doctrinally sophisticated calming-and-insight elaborations
of the same sort as we see in this six-gate schema.

Glorious one, creator of all goodness, Mañjuśrī, his glorious eminence!Manjushri-namasamgiti

"" It is not the case that “nirvāṇa” involves either an instance of “cutting off” or an instance of “permanence.” Though it might be [conceived of as] “existent,” it would thus be a difficult thing to mesh with. Though it might be [conceived of as] “non-existent,” it would thus be more easily realized. Hence it is described as “sublime.” "" - brilliant

Presently re-reading Six Dharma Gates to the Sublime by Tendai Daishi (Zhiyi), translated by Bikhshu Dharmamitra. Its one of those texts that I have read and re-read several times over the years to the point my copy is well worn, dog eared and stained with coffee. It is one of the best meditation manuals I have read so far.

Its not for a complete beginner - this is not a step by step for the newbie, but with basic instruction under the belt and a little experience, I have found that this is an excellent resource that offers a "road map" from initial stages to the goal (as best as I can fathom the goal) with advice on dealing with the various obstacles that arise in the course of practice and how to proceed and recognize progress. Tendai Daishi's voice sounds clear and present.

Just wanted to share.

Should "The Essentials of Buddhist Meditation" be read first if interested in this?

Although many individuals in this age appear to be merely indulging their worldly desires, one does not have the capacity to judge them, so it is best to train in pure vision.
- Shabkar

This six-gate meditation method is not a later-period
Mahāyāna construct, but rather a meditation cultivation
formula rooted in the earliest period of Indian Buddhism. A
closer examination of this formula will help us develop a much more
refined view of traditional Buddhist meditation, one which goes
beyond the very simplistic assumptions generally prevailing in the
West which tend to look upon the tradition as consisting primarily
in a very rudimentary form of ānāpāna (breath) meditation only later
overlaid with doctrinally sophisticated calming-and-insight elaborations
of the same sort as we see in this six-gate schema.

This is not the only instance of early Indian Buddhist teaching and practice that persists in the East - and if you actually develop the skill to practice it, it is obvious how the Buddhist Tantric perspective is contained within it. It is not mere syncretism.